Making it easy to connect
16 NOVEMBER 11
In a world where your business success can often depend on your networking skills and how well you interact with key business stakeholders, it is necessary to not only utilise email but also the plethora of social networking sites.
The Microsoft Outlook Social Connector is a great feature to keep track of your friends and colleagues while also enabling you to grow your professional network directly from Outlook. It is available as part of Outlook 2010, but can also be downloaded for Outlook 2003 and 2007. With most businesses using Outlook for their email, Microsoft has been able to retain its centrality as a core business tool by enabling integration with popular social networking sites and services such as Facebook and LinkedIn. Whilst the integration at this stage is only one-way, we imagine that it'll rapidly advance and soon you may even be able to update your status directly from Outlook!
The Microsoft Outlook Social Connector is a great feature to keep track of your friends and colleagues while also enabling you to grow your professional network directly from Outlook. It is available as part of Outlook 2010, but can also be downloaded for Outlook 2003 and 2007. With most businesses using Outlook for their email, Microsoft has been able to retain its centrality as a core business tool by enabling integration with popular social networking sites and services such as Facebook and LinkedIn. Whilst the integration at this stage is only one-way, we imagine that it'll rapidly advance and soon you may even be able to update your status directly from Outlook!
At its most simplest (without the connector packages) the Outlook Social Connector adds a People Pane at the bottom of your Outlook, which lets you see a collection of information relating to the sender such as recent emails you've exchanged, any meetings you have scheduled with them, and any attachments you may have shared. A simple click lets you instantly access any of this information and it makes getting up to speed with your latest interactions a breeze, and often faster than using the Search function. The People Pane can be turned on and off via Outlook's View menu and you can change the size of the pane as well.
Where the Social Connector really comes into its own is when you add the connector packages for your social media sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn. Now the choice really is up to you, whether you want this information to be part of your Outlook, but for those that rely on their network to drive their business and gain contacts and referrals, this can be a really helpful addition. The connector packages give you extra information about your contacts such as profile information, updates and more, without having to leave your inbox. You can also add people to your social network directly from the People Pane using the green Add/Plus button, to send them an invite.
Know who you're meeting with
You can use the Outlook Social Connector's Gallery View to see all of the people you'll be meeting with. One click on any of the pictures puts you into the single person view, providing easy access to their activities and communication history. You can easily switch in and out of Gallery View by clicking on the little double-arrow icon in the upper-right corner of the People Pane.
Build your network
The Outlook Social Connector makes it easy to grow your network; by clicking the ‘+’ symbol underneath a person’s picture, you can send a request to be their colleague on any of the networks you are connected to. The Connector also automatically synchronizes your colleagues from each of your connected networks and saves them as a separate contact group in Outlook. This allows you to easily send messages, call, or synchronize contacts just as you would any other Outlook contact.
Privacy - What you should look out for!
Know who you're meeting with
You can use the Outlook Social Connector's Gallery View to see all of the people you'll be meeting with. One click on any of the pictures puts you into the single person view, providing easy access to their activities and communication history. You can easily switch in and out of Gallery View by clicking on the little double-arrow icon in the upper-right corner of the People Pane.
Build your network
The Outlook Social Connector makes it easy to grow your network; by clicking the ‘+’ symbol underneath a person’s picture, you can send a request to be their colleague on any of the networks you are connected to. The Connector also automatically synchronizes your colleagues from each of your connected networks and saves them as a separate contact group in Outlook. This allows you to easily send messages, call, or synchronize contacts just as you would any other Outlook contact.
Privacy - What you should look out for!
The Outlook Social Connector gives you information based on whether you are 'connected' or 'friends' with the contact, which email address they use to link with the social media site and their privacy settings. So, for example, you'll be able to see Facebook status updates and recently posted items of people that you are 'friends' with, but for others you'll only see information that is shared with 'everyone' or made 'public'.
On the flip side, you need to think about your own profile, what your privacy settings are and what information you have made public. The people you are emailing may be able to see your profile picture and any other public information. So, you either need to lock down your profile or make sure that you have a business-friendly profile picture! For example, your profile picture may be of you pulling a funny face or perhaps at the beach - perfectly acceptable for your friends to see, but do you really want that new business prospect that you've just sent a professional proposal, to see you in your swimwear? Outlook Social Connector is a free programme and you don't know which of your colleagues or customers are using it!
Click here to learn more about Outlook Social Connector privacy.
Outlook Social Connector Overview
LINKS
On the flip side, you need to think about your own profile, what your privacy settings are and what information you have made public. The people you are emailing may be able to see your profile picture and any other public information. So, you either need to lock down your profile or make sure that you have a business-friendly profile picture! For example, your profile picture may be of you pulling a funny face or perhaps at the beach - perfectly acceptable for your friends to see, but do you really want that new business prospect that you've just sent a professional proposal, to see you in your swimwear? Outlook Social Connector is a free programme and you don't know which of your colleagues or customers are using it!
Click here to learn more about Outlook Social Connector privacy.
Outlook Social Connector Overview
- The People Pane - A name, picture, and title for your colleagues whenever reading a message from them.
- Rich history - See a rich communications history for each person that sends you messages with one-click access to the most recent messages and attachments.
- Activities - Download and see real-time activity for your colleagues from business and social networks.
- Get friendly - Request someone as a colleague or friend with one click. Synchronize those colleagues with Outlook and keep them up-to-date as their information changes.
LINKS
- Social Media Connector Packages - The Outlook Social Connector currently partners with Facebook, LinkedIn, Windows Live Messenger, Viadeo and Xing. Click here to download the Social Connector that is right for you.
- Outlook Social Connector for Outlook 2003 and 2007 - Click here to be directed to the Microsoft Download Centre to find the download appropriate for your system.
- Frequently Asked Questions - Click here for answers to frequently asked questions about Outlook Social Connector.
- Privacy - Click here to learn more about Outlook Social Connector privacy.
